Well I feel like I have spent more time blogging than running in the last few weeks. I have racked up the long miles but not the short daily runs, which has felt a bit odd. Having said that it has been time to have a little spring clean and clear out some much un-used running gear which will find its way onto ebay in the next week or so. This will definitely be including the now infamous Salomon tights. All proceeds are going towards my summer holiday in China which will be a welcome break of sightseeing (and a little running) from the 2 big summer projects of Grimsthorpe 70 miler (23rd July) and The Ridgeway 85 Mile trail run (28th August). The Lakeland 100/50 does clash with this so I am not sure on what to do. That said, it has also given me a cold and unusually a day off work. Having spent most of the day in bed asleep, I now have the strength to tackle some of the reading that I have accumulated over the past few months. There is a veritable mountain of books under the bed. These include; To the end of the earth by Tom Avery, a fantastic diary recreating Robert Peary widely criticized claim to be the first to the North Pole which is nearly finished and has been an excellent read. I left the book at the Rhownair Country House in Snowdonia this new year and had to get another copy from Amazon so I could finish it. I have to say that it is an inspirational and aspirational book. Can I now think about completing a polar marathon? Also to finish is a book called Jungle Ultramarathon; a Mark Hines diary of the reputedly toughest footrace on earth. He wrote the Marathon des Sables diary which was a good read. There are some work books to read also; Good to Great by Jim Collins. Not a bedtime read to accompany the massive cup of Milo I can tell you.
Hopefully tomorrow the running plans take back over when I get back from work. It would be nice to get a gentle 10-12 miler in the bag and try to get to the running club too. If I feel that I have shifted this cold I have had for 5 days now. Work on saturday will prevent me from a long run so instead I shall get up early on sunday and see if I can get some quality miles in. Eric has entered the London Ultra, a 50k following the Capital Ring from Streatham to Wembley. Even though the £40 entry fee is steep, it might be worth running this inaugrual event. There is entry into an Expo at Wembley afterwards and it is on the first day of the half term break so plenty of time for recovery for the Steyning Stinger on 7th March. The plan is a minimum of 10 marathons and ultras this year. I have done 10 in the last 18 months, including 7 last year. The plan is to complete another 10 this year. That way, I will be 1/5 of the way to 100 marathons... a target before my 40th birthday and undoubtedly a lot of miles to prepare me for the ultimate challenge... The Bob Graham Round. This would be something I would like to do in the next 3 years. I think this year to get some fairly serious miles in my legs, next year to spend on recce missions and building a team of supporters to run the legs towards the end and the following year to attempt the race. End of July 2013 is the mission.
The BG is 42 peaks (ranging between 2,000-3,000 ft) in the Lake Ditrict and approximately 65 miles that must be completed in 24 hours. To this date, 1529 people have completed it in just under 80 years. 2 in 3 attempts fail as the climbing 30,00ft in the process. What a challenge!
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